The Ties that Bind
by Disabled Magick
Summary: (Incomplete) Jas'Lyn D'Tana, War Heroine and noted smuggler must make a choice that could change her life...forever (Rated PG for language)
1. Prologue

Star Wars

Disclaimer:  I don't own Star Wars…if I did, I'd be a very rich girl.  Anyway…I DO however Own Jas'Lyn D'Tana and Rei'Ka.  They're my creations…you take them; I'll track you down.  

AN:   This takes place at the end and after Return of the Jedi.  It's still not finished though.  I have a lot more to write.  Anyway…I get my inspiration from Timothy Zahn novels rather than the movies.  Though I love the movies nonetheless.  

I hope you enjoy my fic and Reviews are very much appreciated…please no flames though, okay?

-Magick

****

Prologue

            The magnificence of the Deathstar's destruction could be seen even on the surface of the forest Moon of Endor.  Ewoks and rebels cheered in delight as the haze of sparks and smoke covered the clear blue sky.  They had done it!  The rebels had done it!   The Empire was gone!  Defeated!  But as Jas'Lyn knew, they wouldn't be held back for long.  They had lost the Emperor and Darth Vader; it would take years to replace them.  That gave the Rebellion time to restore order to the now freed galaxy.  

A small Ewok named Wicket tugged at Jas'Lyn D'Tana's sleeve and muttered something in his native tongue.  The young woman smiled and hugged the little furred alien.  Across from her, Leia Organa and Han Solo shared a kiss.  Meanwhile, her thoughts dwelt on Luke Skywalker.  He had been on the Deathstar; she had watched him leave herself.   Luke was Jas' friend if anything happened to him, she wouldn't know what to do.

"Luke wasn't on that thing when it blew, was he?"  Jas'Lyn asked Leia.  

The Princess looked away momentarily, and then back at her.   "No.  He's alright."  She said with a smile.  "He's alright."  She repeated.  Jas'Lyn closed her eyes and sighed in relief, then opened them again.  

"Thank the Force."  She muttered quietly.

            Later, Jas'Lyn stood against a thick tree trunk and clapped a tune in time with the Ewoks' music.  Bonfires were burning high as X-Wings set off fireworks over their heads.  The Ewoks' drums and horns blared a melodic tune of celebration and excitement.  Wicket danced beside Jas and grabbed her hand.  

            "No, I couldn't.  Go ahead."  She said with a chuckle, the little alien took off into the crowd of happy rebels and other Ewoks.  She watched them dance with droids and pilots.  Han and Leia, along with Lando Calrissian and the wookie, Chewbacca stood closer to the celebratory fires than Jas'Lyn.  She didn't mind being a loner; she rather preferred it to anything else.  She looked over her shoulder and around the tree trunk to see Luke coming up to them.  He looked tired, relieved and sad all at once.  

            She had met Luke during the battle of Yavin Four, Jas was only a smuggler stopping off to deliver supplies to the rebellion, and somehow got lassoed into fighting for them.  She had contacts both Imperial and Rebellion so she was a valuable informant to them.  She had been a smuggler since she was sixteen.  Now at twenty-one she was at the top of her game.  She befriended Luke easily; she trusted the Jedi with her life and knew he could expect the same from her.  

            "About time you got back."  Jas said hugging Luke as he neared her.  He hugged her back.  "Everything okay?"  She asked letting him go.  

            "Everything is just fine."  Luke said with a kind smile.  

            "I have to disappear for awhile."  Jas said.

            "Why?"  Luke asked his friend.

            "I'm a smuggler and I've been in the hero game too long.  With the Rebellion's victory, come the major political battles that I don't want to be apart of."  She said.  "Please don't be disappointed in me."  

            "You'd have to do something absolutely terrible for me to be disappointed in you."  Luke said with a smile.  "At least stay and celebrate some more."

            "I can't.  I'm sorry.  You'll see me again, don't worry."  She said, giving Luke a friendly peck on the cheek.  "Make sure Princess Leia doesn't make any ordinances against smugglers, alright?"  Jas smiled and winked, then walked off back the way Luke had come.  


	2. Chapter One

***

Chapter One

--Three years later—

            Coruscant was busy and crowded, much she expected a city-planet to be.  Jas piloted her Lambda-class shuttle, _The Emerald_, to the New Republic building.  She was as beautiful now as she had been three years ago.  Her dark red hair was pulled back in a braid down her back, she wore clinging black flight pants and a form fitting top that ended a few inches above her naval.  A brown vest was over that, and belted around her waist with a blaster tucked safely in its holster.  Over her clothing she also wore a brown flight jacket.  Her brown eyes scanned the immediate area for an empty docking bay.

            "See anything, Rei'Ka?"  She asked the large Togorian male beside her.  The seven-foot-tall cat person was covered head to toe with black and gray fur.  He wore flight pants and an open vest, a blaster at his side as well.   He was a handsome humanoid; at least he would be to other Tutorials.  He was well built and muscular. 

            "There's a landing platform over there."  He said.

            "Then that's where we'll go."  She replied and piloted the shuttle there.  A small faction of Imperial supporters had taken her captive; she hijacked this shuttle and modified it for her liking.  Hidden weapon systems, like two extra quad-laser cannons, one of each were mounted just beside the dorsal fin of the shuttle.  She also had added shield deflectors and cargo space for getting through planetary customs without the officers detecting contraband.  

            "We'll still have to go through customs officers, Jas."  Rei'Ka said.

            "We don't have anything for them to find.  Besides, the only thing they're going to be worried about is the ship."  She replied.  

It was also while she was captured that she met Rei'Ka.  He was one of the Imperials' shock troops.  They had decided to build an army consisting of the whole Togorian race.  They modified their brain patterns so they understood orders and speech, making them more intelligent, yet completely loyal to the Empire.  Jas befriended Rei'Ka while she was there and eventually got away, taking the Togorian with her.  He had a life debt to her now, much like Chewbacca to Han.  

"Setting the landing cycle."  Rei'Ka said, as Jas took the ship down to the docking bay.  It shook as it settled to the ground.  Jas powered down and put her hand on Rei's shoulder.  

"C'mon."  She said.  They disembarked the ship and were met by two customs officials…. armed customs officials.  "Hello boys, how's the weather?"  Jas asked.

"Passports."  Said one.  Jas gave him her passport and Rei'Ka handed over his own. "Whom are you affiliated with?"  He asked.

"No one.  Just your friendly neighborhood, freelance cargo pilot looking in on some old friends."  She said as the guard handed her back her passport and looked over Rei's.   "Where could we find Princess Leia?" 

"_Supreme Councilor_ Organa Solo is in a very important conference, you'll just have to wait."  Said the second officer, holding his finger on the trigger of his blaster.

Jas leaned back against Rei's chest and crossed her arms, the Togorian stood behind her protectively.  "Supreme Councilor Organa Solo, huh?"  She said.  She glanced at his finger.  "Well take it easy, pal, we're not here to cause trouble."  

"You arrive in an Imperial shuttle and you're 'not here to cause trouble'?"  Said the first.

"Listen…friend," Rei'Ka started.  "We are only here for a visit, not to start another war.  Will you let us please pass?"  The soldier's looked at each other in wonder; Togorian speech was never so well versed.  The entire race was…primitive…to say the least.  They usually spoke in third person rather than first and didn't articulate very well at all. 

" Alright fine."  Said the first after a few minutes.  "The Senator is in the main conference room meeting with the representatives of the New Republic.  I suggest you be respectful, there are some very important dignitaries here."

"Thank you kindly, sir.  We'll see you around."  Jas said as she stood up, the two guards stepped aside, Jas turned again.  "Oh yeah.  Don't scratch the paint on my ship, okay?"  She winked and sauntered inside, Rei following closely next to her.  

"Smugglers."  The first soldier grumped.


	3. Chapter Two

****

Chapter Two

            Jas and Rei walked into the Senate building and saw a Twi'Lek assistant or handmaiden of sorts walking toward them.  "Excuse me."  Jas said.  The Twi'Lek looked up and jumped at the sight of Rei standing by.  She was dressed in beautiful, blue silk robes that showed off more skin rather than covering it.  The dress itself was in one piece, a thin strip of cloth went down her sides to connect the top part of the dress to the bottom.  The sleeves were long with buckles holding them closed, leaving parts of her arm showing.  There was cloth coming down from the bottom of the sleeves.  Her twin tentacles fell freely down her back wrapped up in silk ribbons.  

            "Yes?"  She asked in her own tongue.  One Jas knew almost perfectly.

            "Can you please tell me where I can find an entrance to the main conference hall?  Some place where my friend and I can slip into without being noticed."  Jas asked in Twi'Lek.

            "Oh, I was just heading that way myself.  Come with me."  The female Twi'Lek said.  She led the way down a hall; Rei and Jas followed her as she walked.  The cloth on hanging from her sleeves dragged along the floor as she opened a sliding door toward a heated conversation.  Leia was standing on a floating platform in front of thousands of delegates from all over the galaxy.  Her aides were around her, people that Jas didn't know.  

            "Here we are, you've arrived at a perfect time."  Said the Twi'Lek.  "They are discussing trade rights between the planets."  

            "Sounds like my kind of conversation."  Jas added dryly.  "Thanks…umm?"  

"Mel Hinda."  The Twi'Lek responded.  

"Jas'Lyn."  Was all that the young woman said as she looked over the scene.  Rei leaned back against a wall and looked toward his right down at the meeting.  Jas leaned on the high railing, as Mel Hinda stood like a proper lady would stand.  Jas put her head in her hand and rested her elbow on the railing.  

"…not the focus of this meeting."  Leia was saying as the hover pod she was in moved slowly side to side.  

"Then what is the focus?"  A Twi'Lek senator asked.

            "We need to get more systems into the New Republic to increase trade.  The uprising of the Empire is becoming more and more a reality.  If we don't stop this, history will repeat itself and another war will start. "  Leia said.  It was a good argument, Jas had to give her friend that.  She was right, though the smuggler really had no interest in politics.  

            "How do you propose we get that support we need, Councilor?"  A Rodian asked in shaky basic.  "We can't exactly go to the planets."

            "Yes we can, Senator.  We can offer political immunity to anyone who join us."  Leia said.  "We could---"

            "Political immunity from what?"  A Neimoidian interrupted.

            "From the Empire and all its accomplices."  Leia said.  "As it was during the Rebellion."

            "The Rebellion is ancient history, Supreme Councilor Organa Solo."  A dry, emotionless voice said.  They looked toward it to see a human man dressed in elegant cream robes.  From what Jas guessed, he was from Tatooine.  Even the Outer Rim gets representation in the senate now a days.  Since Jabba the Hutt was killed, the Hutts had relieved that dirtball from their slimy hold.  It wasn't the same as it had been three years ago.

 "Stop living in the past."  Briggs said.

            "Who's he?"  Jas asked Mel. 

            "Canton Briggs.  He is from Tatooine.  He's very brash and outspoken, my master doesn't like him at all."  The Twi'Lek replied.  

            "The focus of this meeting is Trade, not the oncoming Imperial threats."  Leia said firmly.  

            "You are afraid of the truth, then?"  Canton said.   "We should start beating the Empire at it's own game, by disbanding the smugglers.  If they serve as informants for both the Empire and the Republic, they are a threat to us."

            "We are not disbanding the smugglers."  Leia said.

            "Like hell we'd let you."  Jas added silently.  

            "We'd be very much out of work."  Rei said, pointedly.

            "Yeah I know."  Jas said. 

            "They are valuable to us."  Leia argued.

            "You are only speaking up for them because your husband is a smuggler!" Canton accused, pointing a finger at Leia.  He then turned to the other delegates.  "My fellow senators, the Empire is growing more and more everyday.  It won't be long before war is upon us once more.  I make a motion to cut our ties to the backwater, smuggling trash and focus primarily on the Empire."

            "'Backwater smuggling trash'….that bastard!"  Rei growled.  

            "How much is the Empire paying you?"  Jas called down to the Senator.  The forever brash and bold Jas'Lyn D'Tana wasn't going to be called backwater trash by anyone.        

            The entire hall looked up at the girl and her large bodyguard, the Twi'Lek handmaiden looked at the young human in shock.  

            "Quiet, Jas'Lyn!  Oh!"  Mel said, then ran off.  Jas looked at Rei and rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?  How dare you interrupt this meeting!"  Canton growled.  

"Just some backwater smuggling trash."  Jas shrugged and stood up straight.  The senators looked back and forth at each other, mumbling on about something.  Leia's pod came up to her and the Togorian on the balcony.   

"Am I glad to see you."  Leia said as she gestured the two of them onto her pod.  

"Working a tough crowd these days, huh?"  Jas said.  Leia looked warily at Rei.  "Oh don't worry, he's harmless."  Jas said.  

"Who are you?" Canton asked again.

"Name's Jas'Lyn D'Tana.  I would like to say it was a pleasure to meet you, but then I would be lying."  She said, the senators looked from one to the other again.  "Yeah, you're lookin' around now.  I'm sure you heard about me, I mean, who hasn't?  The very same Jas'Lyn D'Tana who smuggled for both the Rebellion and the Empire and then helped the Rebels destroy the second Deathstar."  She said, and looked at Briggs.  "And I believe I asked you how much the Empire was paying you, Canton."  She said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Such insubordination!  You should be thrown out!" Briggs growled.  "Supreme Councilor!"  He called to Leia.

"Listen to what she has to say, Senator."  Leia said, then nodded at Jas.

"Thanks, Leia."  Jas said.  "You were right about one thing, Canton.  The Empire IS growing.  This piece of backwater trash knows that.  But it's not growing as fast as you think it is.  I've done my homework.  I've been from one side of this wonderful galaxy of ours to the other and the Empire is still out salvaging old TIE fighters and reconstructing old bases.  They aren't too much of a threat now.  I mean, I've seen a few Star Destroyers here and there.  Hell, I was even taken captive by a faction of Imperial supporters.  But no matter how much they poked and prodded, I wasn't giving them any information about you guys here on Coruscant, simply because I hadn't the slightest clue what was going on."  

"The Empire is still growing and war is inevitable."  Canton said.

"Now ya see, guys like you are the reason why I don't get into politics."  Jas said.  "Has anything of what I said sunk into that thick skull of yours, Canton, old buddy?" 

Briggs puffed out his chest and let out a series of unsatisfied grunts.  "I will not listen to you."  He said.  

"Too bad, friend, because you have to.  All of you have to.  Getting rid of smugglers isn't the answer, one: I'll be out of a job, and two:  you political high-types need us."   Jas said.  "You guys need us to get your soldiers supplies, information and firepower without drawing attention to ourselves.  If I hadn't been in the general area that day, the Deathstar would still be making our lives a living hell!"  

The delegation was quiet and thoughtful, Leia smiled softly from behind Jas.  The red haired smuggler looked at Rei.  "Did I miss anything, Rei, or did I cover it all?"  She asked.

"You did fine."  Rei chuckled.  

"Good."  She nodded.  She looked back at the Senators, "Now, if Leia would like to dismiss this meeting, it'll give all you time to really sleep on what I said.  Go have a few ales or a tryst or two."  She said and moved back, returning the floor to Leia.

"Meeting dismissed."  Leia said.  The Senators growled as they began to leave.   Leia's aide piloted their pod back up to the balcony where Jas and Rei had been standing.  

"Well that was fun."  Jas'Lyn said.

"You know, if I hadn't known you, you would have been kicked out."  Leia told her with a chuckle.  "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd just drop by."  Jas'Lyn said.  "For a few years…maybe."  

"Years?"  Leia asked as they walked toward her office.

"Well, business is really bad now.  Since the Hutts have cut their ties with most of the smugglers, myself included, finding cargo is rough.  The spice mines have all but shut down, the ones that are open are working slower than usual, and weapons transport is going to hell because there aren't any wars."  She said.  "I'd like to work for the New Republic.  A silent partner, just nothing political."

"I'll see what I can do."  Leia said.

"Where is she?!"  A gruff, angry voice growled from behind them.

"Sounds like your little speech made more of an impact than you thought, Jas."  Rei'Ka said.  The Togorian male's ears perked.  "I think its Briggs."

Leia chuckled.  "I'll deal with him.  If you want to find Luke and the others, they should be in the hanger, working on the _Millennium Falcon_."  Leia said.  "Take the turbolift down to the center of the building, the hangers should be there." 

"You're a life saver.  Thanks!"  Jas said, her and Rei jogged off to find the rest of her friends, just as Leia intercepted a very angry Canton Briggs.


	4. Chapter Three

****

Chapter Three

            Jas welcomed the smell of oil and fuel of the hanger.  Rei'Ka followed her into the hanger bay as she searched for the _Millennium Falcon_.  Her eyes caught the large Corellian freighter ship and led Rei'Ka toward it.  Han Solo was sitting on the top of the _Falcon_, trying to work on something inside it; Chewbacca was underneath it, working hard as well.  

            "Anything we can do?"  Jas asked the two of them.  The former smuggler and his wookie companion looked away from their work to see her standing there, the Togorian at her side. 

            "It's about time you got back!"  Han said, climbing down to the hanger bay floor.  "We were worried sick!"  He wiped his hands off with a rag and tossed it aside.

            "No you weren't, but thanks anyway."  She said, Han walked up to her and shook her hand.  

            "Well, it seemed like the right thing to say."  Han shrugged.  

            "Han Solo, meet Rei'Ka.  Rei, this is Han, and that's Chewbacca."  She said, introducing the Togorian to her friends.

            "Pleased to meet you both."  Rei'Ka said.

            "Of all the Togorians I've come up against, he seems to be the most intelligent one."  Han said.  "How is that possible?"

            "I'll explain later."  She said.  "Is Luke around?" 

            "Yeah sure, he's inside the ship."  Han said, thumbing toward the ship.  

            "Rei'Ka stay here, I'll be back."  Jas said and went to the ship.  She boarded it and looked around searching for Luke.  She finally found him, sitting in the captain's chair of the ship and huddled over the sensor array, trying to adjust it so it worked right.  But as Jas knew from experience, nothing on the hunk-a-junk freighter ever worked right.  

            Luke had his back toward her, she walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.  The man turned and smiled.  "Jas?"  He asked, he got up.  She hugged him tight around his neck.  He returned the embrace and squeezed her tightly, then let her go.  

            "What are you doing here?"  Luke asked.

            "I was around."  Jas replied with a shrug and a half smile.  "How are you?"

            "Surprised and pleased, actually.  I didn't expect to see you back so soon."  Luke said.

            "It's been three years."  Jas replied, crossing her arms.  

            "You know what I mean."  Luke said as he sat back down in the Captain's chair in the ship..  

            "I caused quite an uproar in the Senate meeting."  She said as she sat in the seat next to him. 

            "What did you do?"  Luke asked.

            "Some hotshot senator named Briggs is causing quite a stir.  About disbanding smugglers and focusing on the Empire, primarily.  Cutting out the middleman---woman in my case.  He called me a piece of backwater smuggling trash, and you KNOW I couldn't sit around and take it."  She said, with a smile.  "Now I have that senator mad at me."

            "Canton Briggs."  Luke sighed.  "The worst representation Tatooine ever had.  Don't let it bother you too much, Jas.  It'll pass.  Besides, I'm sure Leia loved it."

            "She did, actually."  Jas replied.  The smuggler chuckled.  "She was glad I was there to get her off the hook if nothing else."  

Soon, Rei'Ka stepped into the _Falcon_, "Jas."  Rei said.  

"Luke, this is Rei'Ka, Rei, this is Luke."  Jas introduced.

"Nice to meet you."  Rei said.

"You too."  Luke replied.  

"What's up?"  Jas asked her Togorian companion.  He gestured her to join him outside of the ship.  She nodded and looked at Luke.  "I'll see you later, alright?"  She put her hand on his arm as the Jedi nodded and went back to his work.  Jas left the ship with Rei, then they went back to their own shuttle.  

"Savan has been trying to contact us for two hours."  Rei said as they stepped on board.  The hatch closed behind them as Jas turned on the holo-projector.  

"Sometimes I wish I could cut ties with her altogether."  Jas said as she punched the codes in for the private channel of their employers, Black Sun.  

The head and shoulders of a very distraught Falleen female with black hair and smooth reptilian green skin filled their sight.  Her deep violet eyes were narrowed and angry.

"I have been trying to get a hold of you for two standard hours."  She growled.    

The pro-Imperial Black Sun Organization has been around since the war with the Rebellion.  After the fall of it's leader, Prince Xizor, his only living relative took over.  Her name is Savan, she's Xizor's niece and just as persuading as he was. 

            "Sorry, boss.  Got caught up in something else."  Jas said, she sat in the captain's chair of her ship and slouched nonchalantly, she put her right leg over her left and leaned back.  Rei'Ka remained standing.

            "Whatever it is, I'm sure it was important to you."  Savan said with mock sincerity. 

            "What's up, Savan?"  Jas said.

            "Have you succeeded in making yourself known to the New Republic Senators?" She asked.

            Jas rolled her eyes up to Rei, then back at Savan.  "Oh, I made myself known alright."  She leaned forward in her chair and looked at the female Falleen.  "Look, couldn't you have hired someone else to do this job?"

            "You are the best at what you do.  Besides, your ties with Luke Skywalker and the Solos are strong."  Savan said, Jas sighed in exasperation and leaned back in her chair.  "They trust you."

            "Which is exactly why I can't do this."  Jas argued.  She wasn't afraid of Savan, the only smuggler under the Falleen's jurisdiction who wasn't.  It earned Jas a certain respect from her.  "You got the wrong girl, Savan."  

            "If you don't cooperate, then I will see that your family on Endor suffers greatly for this."  Savan said darkly.  Jas's family was still alive.  Living on Endor, they were refugees, forced out of their home by Black Sun itself.  Jas had a mother, father and a younger brother, no older than six, living among the Ewoks that had helped Jas and her friends three years ago.  No one knew about  her family's existence, none but Jas, Rei and Savan of course.  To save their lives, Jas offered her services to Black Sun.  Their lives rely on her loyalty.

            "You wouldn't dare."  Jas growled.

            "Oh yes I would.  You see, I've learned a few things about my Uncle's ruthlessness while he was in charge here.  Put up a charming, calm exterior, while I watch planets and their inhabitants cringe in fear.  And while I stand by Grand Admiral Thrawn, he will do anything I wish of him."  Savan growled.  "Even if I wish a planet to be destroyed."

            "Damn you, Savan."  Jas said.

            "Now, work your smuggler's charm and destroy the New Republic.  Slowly and subtly if you must, but do it, or your family is as good as dead."  Savan's image disappeared.  

            "Damn her!  That…that….slime eating worm!  That…scum! "  Jas yelled, pounding her fist on the arm of her chair.  She put her face in her hand and rested her elbow on the chair arm again.  Rei'Ka put his large hand on her shoulder.  "I don't want to do this."  Jas said quietly.  

            "I know.  But we don't have a choice."  Rei said.  

            "Yeah, that's  the worse thing about this."  She said.  She got up and wiped her face.  "We may as well get started.  It's going to be hard getting passed Luke though.  He's a Jedi, he could read me like a book, and if I block anything, I know he'll be suspicious of me.  I don't want to betray Luke."  She started pacing around the lounge of her shuttle.  A little something she had added on thanks to Black Sun's many, many connections.  

            "What if we told your friends what is going on, then we could work out a plan to fake it.  Make Savan think we did our job?"  Rei suggested.

            "There are Black Sun Operatives everywhere.  You know that, just as well as I.  If there are Operatives posing as New Republic Guards for all we know.  If one should over hear, they'll take it to Savan and she'd have us killed."  Jas said.  

"Jas'Lyn?"

A voice asked from outside the ship.  Jas and Rei stopped talking and looked at each other.  "It's Han."  Jas said as she let the docking hatch open, praying to whatever is holy that he didn't over hear anything.

            "Hey Han.  Welcome to _The Emerald_."  Jas said as if nothing was wrong.  "A lot roomier than a standard Lambda-class shuttle, and homey."  

            "Nice."  Han said looking around.  "The modifications are great.  More shield power, quad laser cannons, and a place to eat, sleep and play Sabacc.  A little home away from home.  Who ever you're working for must be paying you good."  

            "You have no idea."  Jas said rolling her eyes.  "Overworked and underpaid, though things have been pretty slow lately."  

            "Every smuggler has a binge like that."  Han said.  He gave Jas one of his handsome sideways smiles.  His brown eyes were kind and friendly.

            "So, what's up?"  Jas asked.

            "Oh yeah."  Han said.  "Leia asked me to invite you dinner with, her, Luke and I.  I hope you're hungry.  She's had the cooks working double shifts since you got back."  

            "Actually, I could eat an entire Bantha right now."  Jas said.  

            "Good."  Han said with a chuckle.  "You can tell us all about what you've been doing."   He turned and left the ship.  Jas looked at Rei, the Togorian looked back at her.  He saw the sadness in her eyes.  She usually never showed her emotion to him, but now…well now was different.  Rei'Ka had a family of his own on Togoria, a mate and two cubs.  It was hard parting from them to travel with his human counterpart.  But of course no one was holding their lives over his head.


	5. Chapter Four

***

Chapter Four

            The dining hall was magnificent and radiant with all the luxurious splendors of a Senator.  Leia dined with the finest dishes and silverware, and the finest food any could ask for.  She had cooks at her beck and call, and the finest furniture ever created.

            Jas sat down at a large banquet table, even though there was only seven place settings at the top part it.  It was made of gorgeous greel wood that was dark and polished.  The chairs were made of the same material.  Rei'Ka took his place beside Jas, as Leia sat at the head of the table. Han sat on her left, Luke sat beside him, the Chewie next to Luke.

            "In honor of your return, we've had the best food Coruscant has to offer."  Leia said to Jas.

            "You didn't really have to go to all this trouble."   Jas said.

            "Oh I wanted to."  Leia replied.   "It's not everyday we get to see you."  She smiled and put a napkin over her lap.  She had a point.  Jas liked to lay low, away from the political spotlight and the crowds of media attention that all of that entails.  She felt bad for the Solos and Luke for having to deal with it.  

            "Yeah well, we don't get to Coruscant very often."  Rei said with a shrug.

            "It must be hard, Jas.  Being a smuggler and not getting any good shipments."  Luke said, as the food arrived.  Anything and everything imaginable was set before them.  Jas looked on in awe at all of the food, then shook her head and looked at Luke.

            "We get by.  It's not like we can't improvise."  She said.

            "Where did you and Rei'Ka meet?"  Han asked.  

            "I was taken as a prisoner on a space port swarming with Imperial officials."  She said, shoving a piece of Bantha steak in her mouth.  She chewed and swallowed it.  "I got out, but I noticed Rei in a quarry with other Togorians, just roaming around, all homesick and what not.  So, I sprung Rei and we left."  She said, eating another piece of steak.

            "How did you get so smart, Rei?" Han asked.

            "The Empire was doing experiments on Togorian males.  Enhancing their brain patterns to make them more intelligent."  Rei explained.

            "I found him and busted him out."  Jas said, eating another piece of her steak.  

            "Because of that, I owe a life-debt to her."  Rei said.  "Much like you and Chewbacca."  He said to Han.  The former smuggler nodded in understanding.  

            "Besides, it's nice to have someone to talk to on long trips."  Jas said.

            "Will you be staying long, Jas?"  Luke asked her.

            "As long as Leia allows.  I don't have any work right now, so I was hoping I could be the New Republic's silent partner.  Nothing political, just an informant or something."    Jas said.

            "I'm sure there wouldn't be a problem with that."  Luke looked at his sister.  

            Leia smiled.  "There isn't a problem with it at all."  She said.  Jas looked at Rei and smiled, not because that she managed to get into the New Republic, but because she was with her friends again.  That was all that mattered.

            Later that night, Jas was taken to an apartment in the Senate's living quarters.  She shared the room with Rei'Ka, after he argued that he wouldn't be parted from her.  It was sweet of him, she supposed.  But you can only take a life-debt so far.  

            "What do we do?"  Rei asked as Jas'Lyn grabbed some comfortable clothing from her dresser.  She took her jacket off and threw it on her sleeping cot as she started for the bathroom.  

            "I'm telling Luke.  I can't not tell him.  I can't betray him, I won't.   He means too much to me."  She said, as she went in and closed the bathroom door behind her.  She set the safety on her Blaster before taking it off and stripping out of her flight pants and shirt.  

            "Why do I have an idea that your feelings for Luke Skywalker go beyond friendship?"  Rei asked from outside the door.  She pulled on some comfortable cloth pants that were baggy on her and a button down shirt.  

            "Why is it any of your business?"  Jas'Lyn asked as she came out.  She ran a brush through her long dark red hair and set it on the table beside her cot.  "Maybe I do have feelings for Luke, but they aren't the real reason I don't want to hurt him.  Luke is my friend."

            "So you would rather die?  Let your family die?"  Rei asked.  She sat down on her cot and put her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees.  

            "Rei, if I tell Luke soon, we can get to Endor before Savan's men and get my family out of there."  She said.  She looked up at him, still leaning on her knees, her dark hair fell over her shoulder.  "I don't care if I die, just as long as the people I care about are safe."  

            "You're noble and honorable, but you're also insane."  Rei said.  

            "I'm not insane."  She argued.    

            "Yes you are."  He countered.  "You're willing to throw everything away."

            "So I don't hurt my friends, yes, I'll throw everything away.  Rei, you don't understand.  I fought in the war with the Empire along side those people.  We have bonds that could never be severed.  Luke and I…we came toe-to-toe with Darth Vader on the first Death Star.  On the second, I was stuck on Endor while he risked his life against the Emperor.  Can you imagine how much I wanted to be there to help him?  If you can't use your superior Togorian intelligence to figure out my motives here, then the Empire must have done something wrong."  She said.

            "It's still a crazy idea."  Rei pressed.

If you don't want apart of it, that's fine.  I'm honored that you're willing to stick it out with me this far, you are my friend, which is making it hard for me to tell you this."  She told him.  Rei's ear twitched.  "I release you from your debt.  I no longer need your protection."

            "Like hell you don't."  He said.  "You need it right now."

            "Rei'Ka, I know what I'm doing."  She told him.  

            "No doubt that you do.  I am willing to stay on and see this thing through until the end.  We'll take down the Black Sun and make them a thing of the past."  He said.   "And we'll do it together.  No arguments." 

            Jas'Lyn sighed.  "Alright."  She replied.  "Sounds like a plan."

            "I'm going to get some sleep.  I'll see you in the morning."  He said and laid down on his cot.  Within a few minutes he was asleep and purring quietly.  Jas'Lyn got up off of her cot and left the room to him.  She looked down the hall to the left and to the right and tried to remember where Luke said his apartment was.  She started to the right and met C-3PO in the hallway.  Possibly coming back from a meeting with Leia. 

            "Hey Threepio."  She said.

            "Mistress Jas'Lyn, welcome back."  The protocol droid said.  "I heard you had returned and I was anxiously awaiting your company." 

            "Some other time, Threepio.  Where's Luke's apartment?"  She asked. 

            "Oh.  Three doors down and to the left I believe."  He replied.  

            She put her hand on the golden droid's shoulder.  "Thanks, my friend."  She smiled and walked down the hall.  She announced her presence on Luke's door.  The door opened and she walked inside.  The room was dimly lit with a lamp on at a nearby table.  Luke was sitting in the middle of the floor, dressed in nothing but his black pants.  He was sitting cross-legged on the floor.  Meditating she supposed.  Before her eyes, Luke slowly began to lift off of the ground.  He levitated in the air until he was a foot or so off of the ground.  Quietly, she stood by as he lowered himself again and opened his clear blue eyes to look at her.

            "Hello, Jas."  He said with a smile.

            "Sorry if I'm interrupting something."  She said.

            "Not at all.  I was just meditating before I went to bed.  It clears my mind so I can sleep better.  You should try it."  He told her.

            "Nah, that's alright.  Not my thing."  She said.  "I actually came here to talk to you."  

            "Oh?"  He asked.  He got up from the floor and sat on his cot.  She crossed the floor with bare feet and looked out the large picture window at the city beyond.  

            "It's about why I'm here."  She started.  

            "Is something wrong?"  He asked.  

She turned and leaned back against the windowsill.  "Something is very wrong."  She replied.  "I didn't come here on my own accord, Luke."

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

"I was sent here.  By my employer.  Savan of the Black Sun."  She told him.

"What?"  He asked.  

"She sent me to dissolve the New Republic from the inside so the Empire could take control again. " She explained.  He stood up and looked at her.  "I told you business was hard.  You have to get what you can now.  My services go to the highest bidder."  She pushed off of the windowsill and paced slowly around the room.  

"How long have you been working for them?"  He asked.

"After I got out of that Imperial encampment.  I didn't know they were pro-Empire.  Not until she sent me here to destroy the New Republic."  She replied.  Luke looked away then sat back down on his bed, he looked disappointed in her.  "Savan is holding my family's lives over my head.  If word of my betrayal to her gets out, she can kill them."

"Family?"  He asked her.  "You have a family?"

"The live on Endor.  My mother and Father, as well as my younger brother, Allek.  They went there after my homeworld became Imperial territory.  They took refuge on Endor with the same Ewoks that helped us fight.  Savan knows this and she can destroy them just by snapping her fingers. "  She explained.  

"You're a smuggler, doing things like this is your job.  Why are you telling me?"  Luke asked her as he invited her to sit next to him.  

She sat down.  "I don't want to hurt you.  I care about you…about all of you…so much that I can't do what is expected of me.  Savan used my loyalties to you against me.  She told me I was the only one that could do this."  Jas'Lyn explained.  "You have to believe me, do that Jedi mind-reading stuff you do if you don't." 

"I trust you Jas."  Luke said.  

"I need your help, Luke.  I need to get my family off of Endor."  Jas said.  "Preferably without letting Savan find out." 

"We'll do what we can, Jas.  I'll talk to Han and Leia if you want me to."  He offered.   "What about Rei?  Is he safe?"

"He has a family on Togoria.  A wife and children."  She said, then shook her head.  "Togoria is far out of Savan's jurisdiction.  If she even tries to harm them, she'll be discovered and arrested.  She won't take that risk, not even for revenge."  

"Good.  We'll leave for Endor the day after tomorrow.  That way I have a whole day to talk to Han and Leia about this.  You may be able to help dissolve Black Sun forever."  Luke said kindly.  He smiled kindly at Jas'Lyn, "Don't worry, everything will be taken care of."  

"Thank you."  She said with a smile in return.  She got up from his bed and crossed the floor toward the door.

"Jas'Lyn."  He said.  She turned and looked back at him.  "I'm glad you came to me.  I'm glad you're alive and I'm glad you're back."  He said.

She smiled and nodded, then left Luke's apartment and went back to her own.  Luke kept his eyes on the closed door and thought about her.  She was willing to risk everything to not betray her friends.  To not betray him…he smiled, then laid down to sleep.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

            Jas'Lyn returned to her room, satisfied that she had told him what needed to be told.  The door to her apartment opened into darkness, as it was when she left it.  Rei'Ka's sleeping form lie still on the bed.  He was sleeping so peaceful that she tried her best not to wake him.

"Jas'Lyn D'Tana."

Came a voice from the darkness.  Jas stopped in her tracks and her brown eyes scanned the darkness.  She reached for the lamp close to the door.

            "I wouldn't do that if I were you."  The voice came.  The lights from the passing hover speeders outside illuminated the room for but an instant before allowing it to become dark again.  But in that instant, she made out the distinct features of a man.  Taller than her by a foot with short, neatly cut dark hair.  He wore black flight pants, a shirt and a vest.  

            "Who the hell are you, why are you here?"  She asked sternly, her eyes forever moving.

            "I was sent by Savan."  The man said.  "She knows what you've done.  She knows that you gave up your assignment.  She was informed only moments ago."  He told her.

            "By who?" She asked, squinting in the darkness.  A movement was seen from Rei'Ka's bed.  The male Togorian stood up and turned on a light nearby.  "Rei?"  She asked.  In the dim light she could see the man clearer than before.  He was Corellian it appeared with hazel eyes and strong features.  He must have been an operative.

            "You told?!"  Jas demanded of her companion.

            "I can't let you do this, Jas."  He told her.  "I contacted Savan after you were gone and told her everything."  He seemed as if he was genuinely sorry about it, but that wasn't enough.  No, not enough for Jas'Lyn.  

            "You bastard!  You betrayed me!"  She yelled.  She didn't care who heard.  "You lying sack of Bantha Fodder, how dare you?!" 

            "It's for your own good."  He said.

            "How much did she pay you to spy on me?"  Jas asked Rei.  "Huh?!"

            "Ten-million."  He replied.

            Jas shot a look over at the Corellian man, his hand was on his blaster's handle.  She's seen this tactic before          , while there was a dispute, shoot the target.  She moved quickly and grabbed her blaster from a hidden drawer in the table by the door.  She fired one shot into the man's chest.  The smell of ozone and burning flesh was heavy in the air.  She looked at the man's fallen body and back up to Rei'Ka.  She shot a hurt look at him and grabbed her clothing and weapons.

            "This isn't over."  She told her former companion.  "I saved your life and this is how I'm repaid.  Not by your allegiance but by your betrayal."  

            "I only did what I thought was best."  He growled.

            "Well you better damn well undo it and fast.  You made the wrong person your enemy, Rei'Ka.  I intend on paying YOU back now."  She spat as Luke, Leia and Han arrived in her apartment.  Having heard the blaster shot, they watched as Jas walked passed them and to the hanger.  She needed to get to Endor, not tomorrow, not the day after, but right now.  

            She ran as fast as her bare feet allowed, her skin touching cold metal, but it didn't phase her.  She ran to the hanger where _The Emerald_ sat waiting for her.  She got into her ship and changed back into her pants, shirt and vest while the ship was being prepped for launch.  She attached her blaster back to her waist and thigh and let her red hair fall loose rather than braided.  

            _How dare he?  _She thought venomously.  _How dare that over-sized rug betray me!  After all I've done for him!_  As the ship warmed up, Luke and Han arrived in the hanger, both dressed.  Chewbacca and Threepio weren't very far behind them.  If they were going to Endor, they'd need an interpreter droid after all.  Even Jas wasn't good with the native tongue of the Ewoks.  Chewie would be good to have in case a fight broke out.

            "Jas!"  Luke called.  Jas'Lyn put her hand on her blaster, then relaxed when she saw who had called her.  "We're coming with you."   They climbed up into the ship.

            "Get in, sit down, and hold on.  I need to get to Endor before Savan's men."  She told them evenly.  Luke took the co-pilot's seat, while Han and Threepio took the back.

            "Mind explaining what's going on?"  Han asked as he buckled in.

            "I will when we make the jump into Hyperspace.  Till then, shut up and let me do what I do best."  She said.  The hanger doors opened and Jas's ship burst into outer space.  She locked in the coordinates for Endor and leapt into Hyperspace.

            Later, Han, Luke, Threepio, Jas and Chewie sat in the lounge area of _The Emerald_ with drinks on the tables in front of them.  Jas'Lyn just stared at her mug of Alderaanian Ale.

            "Alright, what's going on?"  Han asked.

            "I work for Black Sun."  Jas said, not looking up from her mug of ale.  "I had no idea they were pro-Empire until Savan sent me to Coruscant to dissolve the New Republic.  I didn't want to do it.  But she had a bit of leverage I didn't know about."

            "What would that be?"  Han asked.

            Jas rolled her eyes up and looked at him.  "My family's lives.  If I didn't remain loyal she'd have them killed.  My mother, father and brother depend on me to hold my part of the deal so they won't be eliminated."  She told him.

            "Blackmail."  Han said dryly.

            "I told Rei that I was going to let Luke know what was going on.  He contacted Savan, she sent an operative to kill me.  But I killed him first."  She told him.

            "Rei'Ka betrayed you?" Han asked, surprised by this.   Chewie roared in malcontent.   "Chewie's right, once a life-debt is sworn it can't be altered or destroyed."  He said.  

            "Apparently Rei'Ka missed that briefing."  Jas told him with a sigh.  "But it doesn't matter now.  Savan has her own little pet cat, I'm nothing but a financial source.  She paid him ten-million to spy on me."  She said.  

            "We need to get her family off of Endor and relocate them somewhere they won't be harmed or used against her."  Luke said, as Jas fell back into silence once more.  

            "If I remember right, Savan doesn't have any hold in the Outer Rim, Tatooine, Dantooine…they're out of her reach."  Han said.  "I don't think she has operatives on Corellia either.  But I'm not sure."

            "Tatooine would probably be better."  Luke nodded.  

            Soon, a beeping sound was heard from the cockpit.  Jas'Lyn's brow furrowed as she got up from the table and went to her seat.  Han and Luke followed after her.

            "What is it?"  Han asked.  

            "I'm not sure.  But it's not good."  She said, studying her sensor and scopes.  "From what it looks like…"  She trailed off and leaned back against her seat.

            "What?"  Luke asked.

            "TIE Fighters."  She replied dryly.


End file.
